Over the objections of about a dozen speakers, the Marina Coast Water District board approved the water supply assessment for the proposed Monterey Downs project Tuesday, though perhaps only temporarily.

After opposing the measure, board member Jan Shriner voted with Bob Lee, Ken Nishi and Howard Gustafson to approve it so she can bring it back for consideration under parliamentary rules in the future. Shriner is expected to be part of a progressive majority when newly elected Peter Le and Tom Moore join the board in December.

The sitting board could vote again if a special meeting is called in advance.

The water assessment concluded that the Monterey Downs project will require 852 acre-feet of water per year, while Seaside and Monterey County, whose jurisdictions the project straddles, have only 382 acre-feet of unallocated water, enough to supply an initial phase. The remainder would have to come from as-yet unapproved and unfunded desalination or recycled water projects.

The equestrian-themed project on Parker Flats would include 1,500 residential units, plus retail, office and sport facilities for athletes and horses. It would also include the California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery and Seaside's new corporation yard.

Monterey Downs managing partner Brian Boudreau said the existing water allocation would be sufficient for most of the houses in the project, which are planned in the first phase. It will likely be five years before construction begins on that phase, he said, and eight years before recycled water is needed.

Though agricultural interests are balking at sharing recycled water with Peninsula housing interests, Boudreau believes they will not block Monterey Downs.

"They like us a lot," he said, referring to the list of supporters on Monterey Downs' website. "They know it's good for the community."

Numerous speakers objected to passage of the assessment, which will be part of the project's environmental impact review. Some complained they had insufficient time to review it over a holiday weekend; others said they couldn't access it at all on the district's website.

Additionally, several pointed out inconsistencies between figures cited in the assessment and those included in earlier reports by the water district, the Fort Ord Reuse Authority and other agencies.

One inconsistency was the report's assertion, based on the cemetery's master plan, that it would include no grass. Cemetery advocate Jack Stewart said after the meeting it was a "faulty" assertion and water-needs assessment because the cemetery would include drought-tolerant grass.

Opponent Sue Hawthorne objected after the meeting that public speaking had been cut off when board member Nishi asked Monterey Downs developer Beth Palmer to explain the purpose of the assessment. Palmer said it was only to allow the California Environmental Quality Act process to move forward and would have no role in final approval of site maps.

"We have a lame duck board voting on something they haven't read based on the assurance of the developer that it's the right thing to do," Hawthorne said.

After the meeting, Palmer and Boudreau said their project would actually save the Peninsula water by storing more recycled water than it needs in a pond in the middle of its horse-racing track. The water, as much as 600 acre-feet per year, is currently dumped in the ocean in winter months, they said.

Also Tuesday, the board voted to extend the contract of general manager Jim Heitzman, with Shriner again seeking to bring the matter back for reconsideration.

Heitzman has come under fire in the wake of the failed regional desalination project. Nishi said Heitzman is the only person who can possibly recoup the $10 million the district lost in the project, which failed after revelations came to light about potential conflicts of interest posed by former county water board member Steve Collins' work with a private firm that eventually won a $25 million contract to manage the project.

Collins is in the midst of a preliminary hearing to determine if he will stand charges on numerous felony and misdemeanor counts in connection with that work.